An Altered Myth
by KenobisGirl
Summary: Two strangers land on Earth in the middle of the Trojan War and inadvertently alter a well-known epic.


Yeah, it's been awhile since I've written anything, and I actually was forced to write this one. It was an English assignment, and that's why it's relatively short. My teacher would have shot me if it had been longer.  
  
Title: An Altered Myth  
  
Author(s): KenobisGirl  
  
Timeframe: JA, Obi-Wan is 14  
  
Characters: Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, characters from Homer's Iliad  
  
Genre: Adventure  
  
Keywords: JA, Obi, Qui  
  
Summary: Two strangers land on Earth in the middle of the Trojan war and inadvertently alter a well-known epic.  
  
Notes: This is a crossover between The Iliad by Homer and SW. I think you may be able to get the gist of it without having read Homer's epic.  
  
***  
  
"I will show them. I am better than any of those fools out on the battlefield. How dare Agamemnon steal my war prize? I deserve it more than he," Achilles muttered to himself, as he paced around the interior of his tent. "Besides, I deserve a respite." He turned to Patroklos, his best friend and closest confidant. "How long has this war been going on, anyway?"  
  
"Almost ten years, Achilles. And it's been a long ten years, that much is true."  
  
"Yes. So a respite has been long overdue." Both men strode out of the tent and into the fading daylight. The camp of the Achaeans stretched as far as the eye could see; a great, white sea of tents, which housed the Greek army.  
  
"I do not see why Agamemnon is being so obstinate about all this," Achilles said, grabbing a piece of bread as they went by a table filled with rations. "If he would only apologize and return my woman-slave, I would return to the fighting. He does not understand that his men are losing their lives without me."  
  
"Perhaps he does not want to admit he is wrong?" Patroklos ventured. Achilles gave a short laugh.  
  
"That is just like him. He is too arrogant to accept the inevitable truth."  
  
Both warriors continued walking down the long rows of tents, but suddenly stopped as an ear-splitting sound thundered in the darkening sky. The noise continued to get louder, as both Trojans and Greeks ran for cover, frightened and thinking the gods were choosing to end their existence with one enormous burst of fire and sound. Some  
  
unworldly thing streaked across the sky, a tail of flame engulfing it, before the ground shook with its impact.  
  
Achilles stood before the crash, mouth hanging open with barely-contained shock. Patroklos was by his side, staring at the object that had shattered the relatively peaceful lull of the bloody war.  
  
"What is going on here?" the urgent voice of Agamemnon came up behind them and snapped them from their stupor. Before they could answer, a small door on the object opened, and a man stepped out, his dark brown cloak billowing around him with the wind. His face looked tired, and blood matted his long hair to the side of his head.  
  
"Please, you have to help my student, he is injured," the man's voice was desperate, and it acted as a catalyst that spurred Agamemnon's men into action. Patroklos walked slowly to the thing that had fallen to the sky, and after the foreign man nodded his gratitude, followed him into the belly of the thing.  
  
Once inside, everything was as dark and as quite as a tomb, with the exception of a few small electrical fires and sparks. Patroklos gazed around in wonder. He had never seen something like this before, and he was amazed at the advanced technology. This thing had fallen from the sky, so the visitors must have come from the sky as well. He wondered if perhaps the gods on Olympus had had something to do with the crash, but he doubted it. This amazing display of technology was definitely beyond any of their gods' work. "What exactly is this?" he asked the man, who had very silent as they walked to where his student lay injured. The man glanced back at him.  
  
"This is a starship. We were on our way to complete some negotiations on the planet of Alderaan..."  
  
"Planet?" Patroklos echoed, his voice full of awe.  
  
"Ah, I see. Your planet must have very primitive technology," the man said, nodding as if he suddenly understood. Patroklos just stared at the man, his face full of confusion and amazement. "I am Qui-Gon Jinn."  
  
"Oh. M-my name is Patroklos," he finally managed to stammer. A low moan broke the sudden silence between the two men, and Qui-Gon ran ahead of Patroklos, his mind occupied with worry for his student, Obi-Wan Kenobi. They came into the cockpit, and it was quite apparent that most of the damage had occurred in this area of the ship. Smoking wiring lay everywhere and it looked as if the ceiling had fallen in over the co-pilot's chair. "Gods, what happened here?" Qui-Gon looked up at Patroklos after gently calming his waking student.  
  
"It was an explosion," he said in hushed tones, not wanting to disturb Obi- Wan. "Obi-Wan was sitting in the co-pilot's chair, and I was in the pilot's chair. The ceiling fell on Obi-Wan, and a piece of shrapnel must have knocked me out, because the next thing I remember is waking up to a commotion outside the ship."  
  
"Yes, you gave us all quite a fright." Qui-Gon nodded, and turned back to his protégé, who was thrashing about. "Hush, young one. You're all right," Qui-Gon said, as he gently stroked the young boy's face. He got up from his crouched position and turned to Patroklos. "I need men to help me free my apprentice from the under this debris. He is badly wounded and needs care immediately." Patroklos nodded and made his way out of this ship. When he returned outside, he noticed that many of Agamemnon's men were still looking at the ship, and some had even ventured further to get a better look. He found Achilles and told him of Qui-Gon's request. Achilles agreed and had some of the best men run inside and extract the apprentice.  
  
***  
  
"So you're saying that you came from the sky? Another planet?"  
  
"Yes. I know it's a bit hard to believe, but where my student and I come from we have very advanced technology that allows us to traverse through space," Qui-Gon explained to Agamemnon as they sat in the king's tent. "And we are called Jedi. We serve the omniscient and omnipotent Force, which is an energy that surrounds and encompasses all things, living and non- living." Agamemnon nodded.  
  
"So what brought you here, Master Jedi?"  
  
"Well, it was an accident, really. We were traveling to Alderaan, a planet in need of my negotiation skills, when there was an explosion of some kind in the cockpit - the place where we fly the ship. The ceiling collapsed onto my student, and I was knocked unconscious. I surmise that the explosion must have disabled the engine- that is, the part that provides the power, for we ended up here."  
  
"Master Jedi?" the doctor interrupted as he came into the tent. "Your student is asking for you." Qui-Gon stood up to his considerable height quickly and followed the doctor to the medical tent.  
  
"How is he?" Qui-Gon asked, his concern mounting now that he had finished explaining his ordeal to the Greeks.  
  
"Well, from what I can tell, he has some broken ribs, but those should heal in time. I am sorry that our medical technology seems inadequate to you. But he is awake, and that is definitely an encouraging sign." They stopped at a tent, and the doctor left Qui-Gon. "If you need anything, ask someone to come get me. They will know where to find me." Qui-Gon thanked him and stepped into the tent. The sight that greeted him definitely helped to alleviate some of his concern. The boy looked tired, but he was alive.  
  
"Master..." Obi-Wan managed to croak out.  
  
"Shhh, save your strength."  
  
"I - I missed you."  
  
"And I you, my Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon smiled at Obi-Wan, and ran his hand through the young man's ginger hair. He gazed at him, as though making sure he was really there. He had been immensely worried about his student, and he wanted to memorize every one of Obi-Wan's features. There was the cleft chin, and sea-change eyes, and the reddish, spiky hair that would stay in his memory forever. And Qui-Gon couldn't forget about the young man's personality; his propensity for mischief, his thoughtfulness, and his willingness to learn.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"Apparently, we are on a planet called Earth. The technology here is rather primitive, and we happened to land in the middle of a war that has lasted for nearly ten years." He chuckled softly as he saw Obi-Wan grimace.  
  
"One of those, huh?"  
  
***  
  
The sun rose and another bloody day began. The Greek camp was already bustling with activity, and the main topic of gossip was Achilles' new plan. Since he would not fight himself, he was sending his most trusted friend into battle for him, donned in his armor. The hope was that the Trojan army would be intimidated by the sight of the armor, and would retreat.  
  
"Master, this plan of the Greeks doesn't sound like it will work."  
  
"I agree, but we must not interfere. This is their war, and they will settle it themselves. Eventually," Qui-Gon answered as the Jedi ate their morning rations before heading out to help around camp. Many soldiers needed medical care, and the two Jedi had volunteered to help with that, as Qui-Gon felt they shouldn't contribute to the bloodshed.  
  
Men began heading out to the battlefield, and Patroklos could be seen at Achilles' tent, putting on the legendary armor.  
  
The two Jedi worked for some time before a loud cry was heard throughout the camp.  
  
"Patroklos' life is in danger!" With that one exclamation, Obi-Wan knew what he had to do. Without a second glance to his master, the young Jedi raced out of the medical tent and ran the few hundred yards to the battle. As he pushed his way though the warring factions, his still-healing ribs protested the rough treatment. By the time he had reached the middle of the field, he was gasping painfully. His vision swam, but he still knew what had to be done. In what almost seemed like slow-motion, he saw the great Hektor, the greatest warrior on the Trojans' side, lift up his sword in the killer blow. Obi-Wan knew he had to stop this reckless war. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him and threw himself between Patroklos and Hektor. With a surprised shout, Hektor halted the swing of his mighty sword and stared down at the brave young Jedi.  
  
"Please, you must stop," Obi-Wan nearly sobbed. "Don't you realize that this war is getting you nothing? Men have been dying for ten years because of a petty disagreement. Doesn't every single one of you want to go home to your families and your homes? Do any of you even remember what your family looks like?" Obi-Wan paused to suck in a breath. "Killing isn't worth it, believe me. I have had to kill a few times, and I think about it and regret it every second of my life. You don't want one more death on your conscience." The warriors were shocked by such a bold statement from a mere teenager. Obi-Wan could tell that what he had said had affected them to some degree. He only hoped that it was enough. With resigned looks on their faces, both the Trojans and the Greeks laid down their weapons and turned to limp back to their camps. Obi-Wan sighed in relief, but jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"You are most wise for one so young," a voice spoke into his ear. "Not many men can convince warriors to cease fighting." Obi-Wan turned to face the voice and found himself looking into the kind eyes of Hektor. "I have wanted to go home for awhile now." He patted the speechless Obi-Wan on the shoulder and walked past him, returning to his wife and baby son waiting just beyond Troy's fortified walls. The Jedi smiled to himself and also walked back to those that were waiting for him.  
  
***  
  
When the second ship touched down, there was much less panic and commotion. This time the ship was not crashing, and it was expected. Qui-Gon had managed to activate the homing beacon, and the Jedi Temple had been alerted to their current predicament. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon met the ship and waited for their rescuer to open the hatch.  
  
"Why do I always end up having to rescue you two?" the voice of an amused Mace Windu made both of them smile. The dark Jedi came out to greet them and clasped both their hands. "It's a pleasure to see both of you in one piece. When we couldn't make contact with you we feared the worst."  
  
"Ah, but fortunately it is going to take more than a crash-landing to put us out of commission, my old friend," Qui-Gon said, smiling as he began loading what few belongings they had salvaged from the wreck into Master Windu's ship.  
  
"I hope that you are not leaving without saying goodbye," Achilles said, walking up to them and smiling. "And I wanted to thank both of you. Your help with this whole situation was greatly appreciated. Especially yours, young Kenobi." Obi-Wan grinned back.  
  
"It was my pleasure, sir. I hope everything works out."  
  
"So do I."  
  
"Thank you for saving my life, young Jedi," Patroklos chimed in, as he walked up behind Achilles to see the two Jedi on their way. With one last wave, they stepped into the ship and blasted into the atmosphere. Achilles and Patroklos stood there long after they were gone, thinking about the mysterious strangers who had stopped the long, crimson war and changed history forever.  
  
Finis  
  
***  
  
Wow, and that was it for my first attempt in a few years. There are plot holes, I know. I really had to cut some stuff out to shorten it up, and I'm too lazy to expand it. So there ya go. Feedback? 


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